No Regrets
by 554Laura
Summary: One shot...What happens when Booth's kids turn to him for romantic advice? Sweet and fluffy with a tiny sprinking of angst. I still don't own Bones.


Part One: Set about 10 years in the future.

Booth and Parker were sitting on the patio after dinner, enjoying the evening. They were, as Pops would have put it, 'shooting the breeze'. It was just the two of them, having a beer together, listening to the crickets chirp.

"So it seems like you're doing okay in the Coast Guard, Parker. What's your title?"

"Tech chief. Computers run so much on board a vessel that I've gotta make sure they're up and on line all the time. I miss being in the Coast Guard band, but I'll have a lot of skills when I get out, and I still play music on the side."

"It sounds like you've got a great plan for your life. That's good." Booth took a sideways glance at the man next to him. Except for having Rebecca's coloring, Parker was a Booth through and through, right down to the smile. It was hard to think of Parker as a grown man, but at 25, Parker had a college education and a great career in the military. Booth was as pleased and proud as any father could be with his son.

"So your mom says she met your girlfriend. What's her name? Julie?" Booth was curious. Rebecca thought maybe Parker was serious about this one, even though he hadn't brought her over to meet his dad and stepmom yet.

"Yeah….Julie. She's a civilian who works on the base. We see each other when I'm ashore. She's cute, and we enjoy each other's company." Parker took another drink of his beer. "I like her a lot."

"But….."

Parker looked over at his dad. It had always amazed him that his dad could read his mind like he did...Parker had never been able to get away with anything while his dad was around.

"But...but…." Parker sighed and slumped in his chair. "Dad...how does a guy know if he's in love?"

Christ…."What's going on, son?" Booth turned to see an unhappy look run over Parker's face.

"I like Julie. I really do, but that's the problem. I don't think I love her, but I can't tell you why I feel that way. I mean, she's great. She's cute, she loves me, she's a lot of fun…"

"But it's not enough." Booth nodded. He had experienced that situation in his own life.

Parker put his beer bottle down and rubbed his face. "Do you remember when I lived in England with Mom and Brett? I had a girlfriend there…"

"What was her name? Meredith? Yeah, I remember. You were really stuck on her, right?"

"Meredith." Parker wore a dreamy smile. "I was totally in love with her, but I was just a kid, so what did I know, right? But whenever I date another girl, I end up comparing her to Meredith, or at least what I remember about Meredith, and I decide I'm not interested any more."

"Have you been in touch with Meredith since you left England?"

"We've emailed back and forth and we keep in touch on social media. She just broke up with the guy she's been dating." Parker picked at the label on his beer bottle. "Meredith hasn't been in a serious relationship since I left."

"I see." Poor Parker. Booth had hoped his son wouldn't have the same romantic woes as his father, but it looked like history was determined to repeat itself. "When I met Bones, it was after your mom and I had broken up, and I was dating someone else. Somehow I knew Bones was the one for me, even though I had another girlfriend. No matter what happened in our lives, it seemed like we always ended up together again. I called it fate, even though Bones doesn't believe in that stuff. It doesn't matter what you call it...we belonged together."

"But I was, what….18? Could I have really met the 'one for me' when I was a teenager? That's crazy, Dad….."

"Maybe, Parker….but it seems like you're telling me that Meredith's your standard, and no one else measures up." Booth took a drink of his beer. "So you didn't ask me, but here's what I think. Take a couple of weeks of leave, and go visit Meredith in London. See for yourself what she feels for you, and decide for yourself what you feel for her. One way or the other, you'll come home with an answer about if you're still in love with her. Don't give up without knowing. Go for it."

"Yeah, but what if I find out that I don't love her anymore, or she doesn't love me anymore? That would hurt like Hell…"

"But you'd have an answer. Take my advice. Don't move on with someone else until you know for sure that there's nothing left between you and Meredith. You owe it to yourself and any future girlfriends. Don't go on without knowing you gave it your best shot. No regrets, right?"

Parker grinned. "No regrets. How about another beer, Dad?"

oooooooooo

Part 2: Set about 15 years in the future.

Booth had looked forward to this Saturday morning for weeks. Christine was home for the weekend. Bones was chaperoning Hank at his robotics competition, so it was going to be a dad and daughter breakfast.

He smiled as his daughter sat down at the breakfast bar. She was an almost exact copy of her mother, except for the Boothy smile, quirky sense of humor and a taste for whimsy. Booth's heart swelled with pride as he realized his little girl had grown into a beautiful, intelligent woman.

"Well, little girl, here are your Mickey Mouse pancakes. Add some syrup and eat up." He smiled as he set her plate down in front of her.

"Dad….", she whined. "I'm not a little girl anymore. You know, I'm a college graduate. I'm going to start my new job soon, and I'll be moving into my own place."

"Sorry, Babe...you're always gonna be my little girl, and no guy's ever gonna be good enough for you. Just sayin'... Speaking of which…", Booth paused as he scooped up some pancakes for himself, "...how's Ryan doing, anyway? I haven't seen him around much lately. I guess he's getting himself set up at the law firm, right?"

"He's fine." Christine pushed her pancakes around in the syrup, but she hadn't eaten much.

Hmmmm…Booth thought he detected a bit of a sour tone there. He suspected things weren't fine. Perhaps it was time for some fatherly intervention. "Fine? That's all you can say? He's gonna be a junior partner, isn't he? That's a great opportunity for him. Are you upset because he's gonna be in Roanoke and you're gonna be in DC? That seems to be a minor obstacle to me."

Christine shook her head and tried to pull in her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She was avoiding eye contact with her father. "No, it's nothing like that. We both have good jobs lined up, and we'll be able to spend weekends and holidays together. Ryan hopes to move back to DC in a couple of years."

"But….."

Christine couldn't help but smile a bit, even though she didn't really feel like it. Her dad could always read her like a book, no matter how hard she tried to keep her feelings to herself.

"But…." Christine focused on her plate. "Daddy, do you remember that it was my idea that Michael-Vincent and I date other people?"

"Yeah...because he was the only guy you'd gone out with, right?" Booth added more syrup to his pancakes.

"Yes...I thought that we were too young to make any commitment to each other, especially since we had never tried anything different. We needed experience with different people. I still think that was the right thing to do."

"Okay, so what's the problem?" Booth set his fork down and looked at his daughter. He couldn't figure out what Christine was getting at. Sometimes he wished she'd was more precise, like her mother.

"Thursday night when Ryan and I were out for dinner, we ran into Michael-Vincent and his new girlfriend, LIz. She's beautiful and has a great personality. She's an art teacher like he is, and they're working at the same studio giving private lessons."

"I see." Now it was beginning to make sense. Christine was jealous of Michael-Vincent's new girlfriend.

Finally Christine couldn't keep her thoughts to herself. "Dad, how do I know if I love someone?" Her words tumbled out quickly. "Mom says love is a rush of brain chemicals, but I keep thinking there must be more to it than that. Ryan causes me to have a rush of brain chemicals, but it's not the same rush as what I felt with Michael-Vincent. It's not as...comfortable. I don't feel like I'm being myself with Ryan." She paused, blinking back tears. "I never had to hide feelings from Michael-Vincent. I could state my opinions or act silly and he didn't care. He loved me no matter what I said or did."

Booth shook his head. Another example of history repeating itself when it came to the travails of Boothy romance. He sighed deeply, trying to figure out what to tell his little girl that would help her understand what she was feeling.

"If you aren't comfortable at all times with Ryan, I'd say you're not in love with him like you were with Michael-Vincent. You shouldn't have to change yourself to get someone to love you, Christine. You're a wonderful, beautiful person in your own right, and you deserve someone who loves you like that...like your mother loves me. She's loved me even when I did some really stupid things. One of the hallmarks of love is being comfortable with one another, even both of you are being unlovable."

Christine threw down her fork. "Fine...so maybe I should give up on Ryan. But, Dad….what about Michael-Vincent? I think I've lost him for good, and it's breaking my heart."

This was going to be hard to talk to Christine about...there was always the chance of losing someone you love when you move on too quickly. Booth knew he had to be honest with her.

"I don't know, Sweetheart. Do you still talk to him?"

"Yeah, we talk all the time about everything. That's how I know so much about Liz. He called me the next day to tell me all about her. And after he hung up, I cried for an hour."

"I think you're gonna have to be brave, Sweetheart. I think if you're not 100 percent sure about Ryan, you need to take a break from that relationship. And then, you need to talk to Michael-Vincent, and tell him how you feel...that you still love him."

"What if Michael-Vincent doesn't love me any more, Dad? What am I going to do?"

"It's gonna be hard, and it'll hurt real bad for a while, but you'll adapt, and eventually you'll find someone new. And there's a chance that he still loves you like you love him. But you'll know the answer one way or another without a doubt, right? No regrets, right?"

Christine nodded and gave her father a small smile. "You're right, Daddy. No regrets."

"Good. Now, eat your pancakes."

oooooooooo

Part 3: Set about 25 years in the future.

Booth was taking a break from all the noise of the engagement party. He stood out on the patio, listening to all the crickets chirp, thinking about the night his youngest child had been born.

"Hey, Dad. I thought I might find you out here. Hey, thanks for the great party. You and Mom outdid yourselves." Hank walked out onto the patio.

"Well, you know, nothing's too good for my kid." Booth smiled as reached out to shake his son's hand. Hank had the best of both of his parents...good looks, intelligence, and a happy-go-lucky personality. Booth was sure this man would be FBI director one day. "Congratulations, Hank. Carla's a great girl, and I know you're gonna be very happy together...just as happy as your mother and I have been over the years."

"Thanks, Dad. I really don't know how I got so lucky. I never thought she'd give a cop like me a second look, you know, and now we're engaged." Hank flashed a Boothy grin. "I can't tell you how happy I am." Hank handed his dad a beer as they sat on the patio. "Have you got a minute, Dad? I need to ask you about something."

Booth's mind flashed back to the romantic advice he'd given Parker on the same patio so many years ago. "Sure, Hank. What's on your mind?" He sat down and motioned for Hank to do the same.

Hank seemed slightly embarrassed. "I want to thank you for being such a good role model for us kids, and for all the good advice you gave me about romance and love."

"I don't think I ever gave you any advice about Carla, did I?"

"Maybe not directly, but I got some advice from you in other ways. I guess you know that Christine and Carla work together at the clinic, and that's how I met Carla. I was dating someone else, but Carla was so pleasant, and it was so comfortable to be around her. Christine told me about the advice you gave her...remember? About Ryan and Michael-Vincent, and finding someone to be comfortable with?"

"Yeah...she and Michael-Vincent have been married 14 years now…." Booth smiled happily.

"And when I asked Parker about asking Carla out, he told me to just go for it, like he did with Meredith. He told me how you said he should find out the answer for himself. And now, they have 3 kids."

"Yep, Meredith was his standard, just like your mother has always been my standard."

"And Carla is my standard, Dad." Hank took a drink of his beer. "You and Mom….you always keep working at your marriage. Things get tough, and you two stick it out together. That's what I want for Carla and me. She's the one I can count on to see me through the hard times."

"But…."

Hank smirked. His dad had never been able to read him as well as Christine or Parker. Hank was the sibling with the poker face.

"No buts, Dad. Carla is a wonderful woman, and I love her with all my heart."

"I'm glad, Hank. I guess I never set out to be an example, but I'm glad it worked out that way." Booth was trying to avoid getting emotional, but he wasn't having much luck. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "So I guess I don't have to give you romantic advice, huh? You got it from your brother and sister?"

Hank smiled. "Yeah, but they got it from you, so I guess that counts, right?"

"I guess so. And you don't have any regrets about that, right?"

"No regrets. Everything has worked out really well for me. So, anyway, Dad….I was wondering….Parker's gonna be my best man, but I want you to be my best man, too. Will you stand up with me at my wedding?"

"Hank, I would be honored." Booth gave his son a hug.

"No, Dad….the honor is mine." They toasted each other with their beer bottles. "I'm going back inside. Coming?"

"I'll come inside in a minute." Booth sat on the patio, thinking over the last 25 years. Boothy romantic history seemed to have repeated itself one more time. Even with numerous trials and tribulations, all of his children had ended up with the love of their life, just as he had, and all of them were exceptionally happy, just as he was. There were no ifs, ands, or buts.

And after all these years, he had no regrets.


End file.
